Spring has sprung at Penn State Berks, and the college’s Sustainability Council will host its annual Earth Day celebration on Monday, April 21. Later that week, on April 23, the Sustainability Council will plant trees donated by PepsiCo in the student commuter parking lot. Then, Penn State Berks will host an event with Berks County's Parks and Recreation Department as part of the City Nature Challenge on Sunday, April 27.
Berks LaunchBox has announced the spring 2025 round of the “IMAGINE Your Business” grant. Funded by the County of Berks Imagine Berks Fund, this grant provides up to $2,000 to early-stage entrepreneurs to support various business needs such as prototyping, marketing and product development. The initiative aims to foster innovation and economic growth within Berks County.
In celebration of AI Week, Penn State Berks will host an evening exploring the transformative power of AI for small- to medium-sized businesses on Wednesday, April 16, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The event will be held in the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) Center, located within the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. Cost is $20 for dinner (exact payment accepted at the door) and is free for Penn State students with ID. All attendees must register in advance.
The Penn State Berks International Klub will host a Holi celebration from 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, on Perkins Lawn. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to register in advance.
Penn State Berks recently honored the Indigenous tribes who inhabited the land where the campus is currently located in Spring Township by holding a land acknowledgement ceremony. The event introduced the college’s land-acknowledgement statement, developed in partnership with the Widoktadwen Center for Native Knowledge. It also included remarks by Amanda Funk of the Widoktadwen Center, presentations by two representatives of the Lenape nation, Chief Bluejay Barbara Michalski and Chief Gentlemoon Chuck DeMund, and a tree dedication ceremony.
Throughout 2024, Berks LaunchBox has continued accelerating startup growth in the Berks County community. In the last year, Berks LaunchBox has assisted 229 new entrepreneurs, taught new skills to 708 community members in its Makerspace, offered entrepreneurship classes to 463 community members, and impacted 339 students.
From left to right: Orest Luzeckyi, founder of Orest Luzeckyi Artwork and second place winner; Erin Godfrey, founder of Joy Tac LLC and first place winner; Danny Vitale, founder of 5South5 and third place winner.
